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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
Thanks for stopping by! 
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PROMPT: You're on a train (or other similarly isolated area) - how do you pass the time? Daydream...
I'm sure this isn't going to come as any big surprise... but I'd write. Being on a train or somewhere else that you're essentially stuck is the perfect place to write (and read) because you can't leave!  I've always been pretty self-sufficient in terms of finding ways to entertain myself when I'm somewhere others might find boring... but that's always been because I have plenty to read and I usually bring a computer, pen and paper, or other means of jotting down ideas. As long as I can do those two things, I'm rarely, if ever, bored and the time seems to pass along just fine.
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PROMPT: Do you have a favorite screenwriter? BONUS: If you don't have one or know any (or even if you do), why do you think screenwriters aren't given as much prestige as actors, directors, and producers?
Terry Rossio and his writing partner Ted Elliott are responsible for the screenplays to quite a few movies that almost all of us have probably seen (including a few that have popped up on other bloggers' lists this month!), including ALADDIN, SHREK, and the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise. The reason I chose Terry instead of Ted is because he also writes the occasional column about screenwriting, which was an invaluable resource when I first got my start trying to write screenplays. These two guys are so smart when it comes to story and character, it's kinda ridiculous.
As far as why screenwriters don't get as much prestige as the actors, directors, and producers, I think it's because unlike, say, novels, the writer is the first voice in a very long process rather than the final voice. The writer is responsible for coming up with a script, but the producer is responsible for shepherding the project through the production process, the actors are the ones people see on the screen, and the director is the one who gets to put his "stamp" on it last by being responsible for the creative direction of the project during the leg of the journey between script and screen. Since the screenwriter's job is done largely behind the scenes, and primarily prior the the start of production, I think their profile on the project is lowered... and when you combine that with the fact that there are already so many other voices involved in a project besides the screenwriter, I think it's easy for screenwriters to get lost in the mix.
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March 24, 2014 at 10:07am March 24, 2014 at 10:07am
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PROMPT: Provide your thoughts/opinions on a newspaper/magazine article or a radio/television news story from the past week. And if you feel inclined, let loose and blog about your week. Also, feel free to comment on your favorite blog entries from your fellow challengers from the preceding week, though this is not required.
The story that stood out most prominently to me this week was "How to Poo on a Date"  winning an award for the oddest book title. I suppose what surprised me about this article was not that a book called "How to Poo on a Date" would win such a magnanimous honor... but that there's a prize for this kind of thing at all. I probably should have suspected, since there are awards for pretty much everything else.
What's particularly impressive (although it wasn't mentioned in the article; I had to do a little independent research) was that the Diagram Prize has been given out consistently (except for two years) since 1978! Some of the more memorable winners from years past:
 Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop
How to Avoid Huge Ships
Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality
The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification
The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories
Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers
The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History, and Its Role in the World Today
Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice
If there's one thing this list proves, it's that you can literally write a book about anything.  It also proves, I think, that the person curating the list has an odd fascination with poop and farm animals, as eight of the thirty-four awards given out include something to do with one of those two subjects. 
I do have to admit, though, that now I'm tempted to read How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books and its follow-up, Baboon Metaphysics And More Implausibly Titled Books about the history of the prize and its nominees, including some apparent controversy where some of the titles were generated by computers and others where publishers began publishing intentionally bizarre titles to try and win the prize (which has no cash value, I might add). Like so many things, though, this is just bizarre enough to capture my attention and might result in me reading a book about it. 
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PROMPT: What was one of your favorite cartoons as a kid? Or today... if you still watch cartoons today, you can totally talk about those too.
I used to be addicted to cartoons when I was a kid. I had a really difficult time choosing, and at various times during the writing of this blog entry nearly went with TRANSFORMERS, ANIMANIACS, G.I. JOE, GARGOYLES, DUCKTALES, TINY TOONS, BATMAN BEYOND, X-MEN, TOM & JERRY, LOONEY TUNES, VOLTRON, RUGRATS, DOUG, HE-MAN... okay, okay, I think you get the idea. So today I picked the cartoon that, for me, I think has the most elements that still appeal to me today. I love a good mysterious villain like Dr. Claw, secret gadgets like the one the Inspector has in spades, and I'm fascinated by stories of kids in roles that are typically reserved for adults. In fact, if you take a minute to think about it, the Inspector looking into cases while his daughter Penny is really the one who solves them has a lot of echoes in one of my other favorite TV shows off all time - VERONICA MARS - where Veronica works for her dad's private investigation firm and ends up being the one who solves an awful lot of mysteries that he only scratches the surface of.
Here's the classic intro to the cartoon series:
It's too bad they made this classic property into a... less classic pair of movies, but at least I'll always have the cartoon to remember it by. 
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